• Huge energy market in India provides unique opportunity to invest in Indian oil and gas sector: Dharmendra Pradhan

    NEW DELHI, 12th September, 2016: The Minister of State (I/C) for Petroleum & Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan has invited foreign investors to participate in the Discovered Small Fields Bidding Round – 2016. Speaking at a road show in London, he said that the huge energy market in India provides unique opportunity to invest in the Indian oil and gas sector.

    London/United Kingdom, New Delhi/India – Pradhan said these 67 Small Fields were discovered long back but could not be monetised mainly owing to restrictions in government policies. Now, progressive policies have been ushered in and private and foreign investments are being proactively facilitated. Small fields provide an investment opportunity in already discovered fields with no signature bonus, no requirement of prior technical experience and no mandatory work programme. The new policy is based on revenue sharing contract model with the aim of simplifying the operating regime and making it more transparent.

    Giving a perspective of the paradigm shift in India and the oil & gas sector in particular, Pradhan said that India has now become a bright spot of hope and opportunity in the world. While, there has been the surge of investments from around the world, there has been a sharp rise in India’s ranking on ease of doing business. India has become a pool of investment opportunity in downstream and upstream sectors.

    Highlighting major reforms in the oil and gas sector, Pradhan said that the government is following principles of enhancing production; attracting investment and technology; generating employment; transparency; and minimising administrative discretion. The oil and gas sector has also been identified as the major national initiative under the ‘Make in India’ policy reform. Hydrocarbon exploration and Licensing Policy have been launched to make future exploration bidding rounds more attractive for investors.

    Pradhan said that the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas is looking at London and UK for bringing in not only investment but also innovation and new technology to improve oil and gas production from these fields. He assured the investors of all possible support.

    Since the launch of the Bid Round on May 25, 2016 in New Delhi, multiple interactive meets across India and various international locations – Houston, Calgary, Dubai and Singapore have been conducted for the Bid Round 2016.


< PreviousNext >